Fall River, New Bedford hospitals ready to assist amid Providence I-195 lane closures
St. Anne's Hospital and Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford are part of an effort to accept patients that may be diverted from Rhode Island hospitals related to the traffic issues with the Washington Bridge in Rhode Island.
Southcoast Health owns Charlton and St. Luke's and released a statement Wednesday sharing its commitment to providing emergency care to all patients within the South Coast region, including those who are brought to Charlton Memorial Hospital and St. Luke’s by ambulance due to the closure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge on I-195 in Providence. Since the initial closure announcement on Monday afternoon that caused a few days of nightmare traffic, two travel lanes for cars heading west to Providence have been opened on the eastbound side of I-195. A lane on the westbound side of the bridge is also open for emergency vehicles only.
“We are working closely with Massachusetts and Rhode Island state officials as well as hospitals across the region to ensure patients have access to the care they need,” the statement reads. “We anticipate most emergency cases diverted away from Providence will go to Charlton Memorial, with trauma cases directed to the Level II Adult Trauma Center at St. Luke’s Hospital.”
Public Communications and Media Relations Manager Kaitlyn Johnson said throughout the construction, they anticipate seeing an increase in emergency patients brought to Southcoast Health hospitals by their local EMS partners.
“We began to see a slight increase in patient volume yesterday although we have not confirmed if it is directly related to this incident,” she said Wednesday. “We will continue to monitor the situation, adjusting our staffing schedules accordingly to ensure we are prepared to care for all patients.”
She said no procedures have been postponed and explained that a Level II trauma center is equipped to see any type of trauma patient, but is not required to conduct research or have surgical residency programs.
The Washington Bridge is located about 17 miles from Charlton Memorial in Fall River and 29 miles from St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.
St. Anne’s Hospital is also ready to respond to the need for additional assistance, according to Anne Ferreira, coordinator, Strategic Communications for the hospital.
“We are always ready to accept patients who need us and provide them with safe patient care,” she said. “If a surge occurs, our hospital’s emergency response plan ensures coordination between our hospital leaders, emergency department leadership, and Region 5 EMS that ensures appropriate coordination of patients across hospitals in our region.”
Region 5 Emergency Medical Services encompasses the Southeast Region of Massachusetts including the SouthCoast and Cape Cod.
Ferreira said St. Anne's has not seen a significant increase in the number of emergency patients seeking treatment, but will adjust its operations as needed.
“This is ordinarily a slightly busier time of year due to seasonal illnesses, but we have not seen a significant uptick in the number of emergency patients seeking care this week,” she said Wednesday. “We continue to monitor our volume so we can adjust as needed.”
She said St. Anne’s serves a good number of East Bay, Rhode Island patients from Bristol, Warren and Barrington so it’s the nearest and quickest-to-reach community hospital for those communities.
Will emergency vehicles be allowed?
According to a Providence Journal story, officials announced Tuesday that they will keep a lane open for emergency vehicles. DOT Director Peter Alviti said RIDOT found "a portion of the old bridge structure we can use safely" that can act as a lane for emergency vehicles to pass through.
There will be checkpoints manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week to let those vehicles by.
Why was the Washington Bridge heading west closed?
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced that all the westbound lanes will be closed and traffic diverted to alternate routes after failing components from part of the original bridge built in 1968 were discovered.
There is now two-lane traffic on the eastbound side, after which permanent repairs will begin on the westbound side.
The repairs could take three months, or more.
What to know: You asked, we answered: Reader questions about the Washington Bridge
Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Fall River, New Bedford hospitals ready to accept patients
